What is Mole Day?

Celebrated
annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole
Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23),
which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole
Day was created as a way to foster interest in
chemistry. Schools throughout the United States and
around the world celebrate Mole Day with various
activities related to chemistry and/or moles.

For a given
molecule, one mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is
equal to the atomic mass of the molecule. For example,
the water molecule has an atomic mass of 18, therefore
one mole of water weighs 18 grams. An atom of neon has an
atomic mass of 20, therefore one mole of neon weighs 20
grams. In general, one mole of any substance contains
Avogadro's Number of molecules or atoms of that
substance. This relationship was first discovered by
Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1858) and he received credit for
this after his death.